Organizations need to grapple with change. While changes may be caused by a variety of external and internal factors, it is the ability of organizations to negotiate change successfully that decides their sustainability and competitive success. How do successful organizations change? While the answer may be complicated, existing research on organizations indicate one..

2. The Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing
Chapter 1. Challenges to sustainable housing
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe member States note that:
1. Sustainable housing has a key role in the quality of human life. The positive
impact of housing can be increased through the application of principles of:
environmental protection; economic effectiveness; social inclusion and
participation; and cultural adequacy. The development of sustainable housing in the
ECE region faces multiple challenges resulting mainly from globalization,
demographic changes, climate change and the economic crisis.
2. Housing provision, management and demolition impact the environment; these
processes consume resources (land, water, energy and building materials) and
produce, for example, greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing this impact requires the
engagement of Governments and civil society as well as action by the ECE and
other international organizations. Achieving effective housing management,
investing in large-scale retrofitting to improve environmental performance and
developing financial mechanisms to improve access to housing should be policy
priorities. The life-cycle approach in design should be promoted as one way to
reduce the impact of this sector on the environment.
3. A degraded urban environment, with air and noise pollution and a lack of green
spaces and mobility options, poses health risks. Housing conditions also have a
direct effect on the physical and mental health of the population. Poor housing and
indoor environments cause, or contribute to, many preventable diseases and injuries
such as respiratory, nervous system and cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
4. The 2008 financial and economic crisis underscored the vital role that stable and
transparent housing markets play in the economy. As a result of the crisis, some
countries have experienced disturbing imbalances in their housing markets with
foreclosures, homelessness, excess housing stock and a lack of affordable housing.
5. Poor, disadvantaged and vulnerable populations1
may lack affordable and
adequate housing, face unhealthy and unsafe housing and physical barriers, and/or
related discrimination and exclusion. Those living in substandard and informal
settlements often lack water, sanitation and other public services.
6. In some cases urbanization has led to urban sprawl. This has had a negative
impact on existing settlements and has reduced the land available for other uses. In
other cases, urbanization has been uncontrolled, creating and expanding informal
settlements, whose residents may lack security of tenure and social and physical
infrastructure.
7. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and landslides, as well as human-
generated disasters, have resulted in large-scale damage to housing across the ECE
region and present serious challenges for governments and the region. National
policies and planning are often inadequate to prevent and minimize damage from
disasters and emergency situations. Affected populations should be provided with
adequate temporary housing solutions, if necessary, through international and
humanitarian assistance.
8. Climate change has become a tangible reality, with rising global temperatures,
flooding, storms and landslides affecting people’s lives and assets and causing
1
The definition of vulnerable groups and people varies from country to country and may
include: young people; senior citizens; large families with children and single parent families;
victims of domestic violence; people with disabilities including mental illness, intellectual and/or
physical disabilities; immigrants; refugees; Roma communities; and other minority groups.
2

3. economic and social losses. Houses and human settlements need to become resilient
to extreme weather events, including those caused by climate change.
Chapter 2. Goal, Scope and Principles
9. The Charter is a non-legally binding document. The goal of the Charter is to
support member States as they seek to ensure access to decent, adequate, affordable
and healthy housing for all, with due attention to reducing the impact of the housing
sector on the environment.
10. The scope of the Charter is to improve the sustainability of housing in the ECE
region through effective policies and actions at all levels, supported by international
cooperation, in order to contribute to sustainable development in the region.
11. The Charter contributes to the implementation of relevant Sustainable
Development Goals on Cities and Human Settlements2
and the implementation of
the UN HABITAT Global Housing Strategy Framework3
.
12. When addressing the challenges outlined in Chapter 1, the following four
principles and related rationales form the basis of sustainable housing:
(a) Environmental protection;
(b) Economic effectiveness;
(c) Social inclusion and participation;
(d) Cultural adequacy.
(a) Environmental protection
13. Housing should be planned, constructed and used in a way that minimizes
environmental impact and promotes environmental sustainability. This should be
addressed through:
(i) Housing practices that contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of
buildings throughout their life-cycle, from design, material supply,
manufacturing, and construction, to use, maintenance, refurbishment, and
demolition;
(ii) Improved environmental and energy performance of dwellings, which
contribute to combating energy poverty, improving residents’ quality of life
and reducing health problems;
(iii) Resilient urban settlements which, when possible, use renewable
energy, and proactively take into account climate change;
(iv) Existing houses that are retrofitted, as much as possible, for the
efficient use of resources;
(v) Housing stock that is resilient to natural and human-generated hazards,
enhanced through adequate planning, design and safe construction;
(vi) Green spaces around and within housing areas, including areas that
provide habitat for wildlife, space for leisure, sport and urban agriculture;
(vii) Compact housing settlements with planned growth to prevent urban
sprawl;
2
Introduction to the proposal of the Open Working Group for Sustainable
Development Goals of 19 July 2014. At
http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/4518outcomedocument.pdf
3
See document HSP/GC/24/2/Add.6 and, for related decisions,
http://unhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Decisions-and-resolution-GC-24th-
session.pdf
3

4. (viii) Housing settlements with priority given to sustainable and integrated
transport systems and the provision of green infrastructure;
(ix) Encouragement of healthy living through: good housing design;
maintenance; and retrofitting;
(x) Waste management treated as an integral part of sustainable housing
strategies, including in housing construction, housing demolition and
household living, with the encouragement of re-use, recycling, and
composting.
(b) Economic effectiveness
14. Housing is, and has been, an influential sector in national economies. Housing
should be both a sustainable element in a vibrant economy as well as a sector for
meeting people’s needs. This should be addressed through:
(i) Secure and neutral tenure (i.e. with flexibility between owning and
renting);
(ii) Cadastral and land registration information and services that support an
environment conducive to investment in housing and the promotion of
secure land and housing tenure;
(iii) Transparent, efficient and effective accounting, regulatory procedures
and mortgage rules in order to ensure appropriate mortgage availability,
protect consumers, enhance their housing security, enlarge housing choices
and reduce the risk of homes being lost;
(iv) Increased investment in sustainable housing promoted through private
and public investments including public-private partnerships and other
financing instruments;
(v) Housing construction and renovation as well as retrofitting of the
existing housing stock in order to combat energy poverty by supporting
energy efficiency (which will also contribute to climate change mitigation
and adaptation);
(vi) Housing construction performed based on the use of building codes
and standards, which promote harmonization of common practices,
procedures, products specifications to allow compatibility across state
borders and support building safety;
(vii) The production of housing stock based, as much as possible, on local
solutions, labour and local materials for their design, construction,
refurbishment and maintenance, thus contributing to local employment;
(viii) The retrofitting of existing housing using appropriate technologies and
in such a way as to generate employment;
(ix) Infrastructure and services to people in low income and informal
settlements, when possible and appropriate;
(x) National policies and programmes that encourage, when possible and
appropriate, dwellers of informal construction to regularize and upgrade their
constructions provided that the geographic location and other factors allow
minimum safety requirements to be met;
(xi) More integrated urban development and regeneration with workplaces
and services brought into closer spatial relation to housing, while taking into
account potential dangers and hazards;
(xii) Spatial planning that includes policies to: efficiently distribute
economic activities; improve technical and social infrastructure and services;
4

5. undertake urban regeneration; provide affordable housing; and address urban
sprawl.
(c) Social inclusion and participation
15. Housing policy and debate should be advanced with an enhanced emphasis on
engaged and negotiated civic involvement, social inclusiveness, public health,
transparency, and a concern for ethical processes. This should be addressed
through:
(i) Instruments of state support for adequate, healthy, safe and affordable
housing, including access to basic utilities and services, which promote
social cohesion and contribute to meeting the housing needs of various social
groups, including marginalised and vulnerable groups and people4
;
(ii) Increased availability of housing options, particularly affordable and
social housing, through different instruments, including through promoting
tenure neutrality;
(iii) Planning, housing design, maintenance and retrofitting that: promotes
healthy living; encourages the implementation of universal design principles
in order to increase the usability of homes for all people across generational,
gender and disability divides; and encourages socially mixed communities;
(iv) Support for adequate housing solutions for people affected by natural
and human-made disasters;
(v) Housing and land tenure policies that support social justice;
(vi) National housing policies developed through deliberative and
democratic processes based on expert knowledge, extensive data collection,
transparent reporting of statistics, and extensive and inclusive public debate
about all aspects of housing development;
(vii) Research and exchange of knowledge on all aspects of sustainable
housing;
(viii) Effective, clear, and transparent governance at all levels, including
institutionalized procedures for appeals to decisions related to housing
(d) Cultural adequacy
16. Housing policy should take into consideration questions of cultural identity,
value, and emotional wellbeing. This should be addressed through:
(i) National housing policies that take into account social and territorial
peculiarities and support the protection and enhancement of: landscapes;
historical heritage; and cultural heritage;
(ii) Emphasizing the development of public spaces for cultural and social
activities;
(iii) Housing that takes into consideration the background and culture of
inhabitants;
(iv) Houses and neighbourhoods designed and actively maintained in order
to enhance the emotional wellbeing of people, including by involving local
communities in this process.
4
The definition of vulnerable groups and people varies from country to country
and may include: young people; senior citizens; large families with children and
single parent families; victims of domestic violence; people with disabilities
including mental illness, intellectual and/or physical disabilities; immigrants;
refugees; Roma communities; and other minority groups.
5

6. Chapter 3. Key directions of work and measures to promote sustainable
housing
17. Member States have the intention to advance in the following four key
directions towards sustainable housing:
(a) Limit the negative impact of housing on the environment and enhance the
energy efficiency of the housing sector;
(b) Promote access to housing, in the context of sustainable economic development;
(c) Promote decent, adequate, healthy, barrier free and safe housing;
(d) Promote the continued application of sustainable housing principles.
18. Member States support the following actions:
(a) Limit the negative impact of housing on the environment and enhance the
energy efficiency of the housing sector by taking measures to:
(i) Reduce the carbon footprint of the housing sector by reducing energy use
throughout the entire life cycle of buildings, which includes: housing design;
material supply and manufacturing; construction; maintenance;
refurbishment; and demolition processes;
(ii) Decrease the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by
paying special attention to air and water quality, and waste management;
(iii) Apply building codes and standards for energy efficiency and the
environmental safety of new and existing residential buildings;
(iv) Increase the proportion of low-energy housing units also as a part of an
integrated urban renewal approach;
(v) Increase the use of low carbon and renewable energy technologies in
housing;
(vi) Retrofit and renovate existing housing stock in an environmentally friendly,
energy-efficient, affordable and cost-efficient way; making use of local
solutions and knowledge when possible;
(vii) Put in place strategies to ensure that the design and construction of dwellings
apply principles of environmental sustainability, with special regard to
climate change mitigation and adaptation;
(viii) Adopt green housing policies and integrate them into sustainable urban and
territorial development policies;
(ix) Make waste and water management an integral part of sustainable housing
strategies and policies;
(x) Encourage construction of multifamily housing, promote integrated public
transportation and facilitate the use of clean vehicles in order to, mainly,
counteract urban sprawl and save energy;
(xi) Provide appropriate technical and financial support to housing stakeholders
and, in particular, ensure the feasibility and affordability of energy efficiency
measures, including for the most vulnerable parts of the population;
(xii) Promote and monitor integrated urban development and regeneration which
brings workplaces and services into closer spatial relation to housing, while
taking into account potential dangers and hazards; and increasing resilience
to climate change;
6

7. (xiii) Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public
spaces, particularly for disadvantaged population groups5
.
(b) Promote access to housing in the context of sustainable economic development by
taking measures to:
(i) Ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic
services;6
(ii) Promote secure tenure and the availability of housing options, including
the neutral treatment of tenure options (such as ownership or renting), in
order to encourage the development of adequate supplies of affordable
housing;
(iii) Promote transparent and fair rental markets with a balance of rights and
duties between landlords and tenants through adequate legislation and
conflict resolution mechanisms in order to facilitate residential and labour
mobility;
(iv) Contribute to well-functioning, efficient, equitable and transparent housing
markets and land markets, which respond to different types of housing
demand as well as favouring credit access for socially and economically
vulnerable population groups, including through alternative forms of
funding, such as housing microfinance;
(v) Develop and review policies and procedures for integrated urban renewal
and housing maintenance, including utility systems and the encouragement
of green investments in the sector;
(vi) Encourage effective management of the housing stock and develop
mechanisms for affordable housing refurbishment;
(vii) Promote investment in sustainable housing through private and public
investments, public-private partnership, and other means of financing;
(viii) Develop programmes, where appropriate, to assist those who are in danger
of housing-loan default because of social or economic shocks and are
threatened with homelessness;
(ix) Develop frameworks to ensure the rights and duties of all property owners
as well as tenants;
(x) Where possible and appropriate, assist people living in informal and low-
income settlements to have access to adequate infrastructure and services;
(xi) Promote national policies and programmes that encourage, when possible
and appropriate, dwellers of informal construction to regularize and
upgrade their constructions provided that the geographic location and other
factors allow minimum safety requirements to be met;
(xii) Encourage the use of efficient solutions for the design, construction,
refurbishment and maintenance of sustainable housing while respecting the
cultural and geographic particularities of member States;
5
Introduction to the proposal of the Open Working Group for Sustainable
Development Goals of 19 July 2013, at
http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/4518outcomedocument.pdf
6
Ibid
7

8. (xiii) Establish effective, clear and transparent regulations and procedures, as
well as appropriate institutions for issuing building permits, with the
objective of helping ensure fairness and non-discrimination and fighting
corruption in the housing sector;
(xiv) Promote the use of spatial, cadastral and land registration information and
services to create an environment conducive to investment in housing and
the security of land and housing tenure;
(xv) Support cities and human settlements adopting and implementing smart
city concepts, integrated policies and plans to support: inclusion, including
socially mixed communities; resource efficiency; and resilience to climate
change and disasters;7
(xvi) Promote integrated spatial planning which supports: the efficient spatial
distribution of economic activities; the improvement of technical and
social infrastructure; urban regeneration and integrated urban renewal; and
affordable housing and which also addresses urban sprawl.
(c) Promote decent, adequate, healthy, barrier free and safe housing by taking
measures to:
(i) Improve access for all to good quality and healthy housing, reduce
homelessness and improve access to barrier-free housing;
(ii) Develop socially mixed communities and avoid social segregation,
gentrification and gated communities;
(iii) Encourage healthy living through housing design, maintenance and
retrofitting as well as through public and green spaces around and within
housing areas;
(iv) Improve the resilience of buildings to natural and human-generated
hazards through safety planning, design and construction;
(v) Develop sustainable housing strategies that improve access to basic
utilities and services, including safe drinking water and sanitation;
(vi) Promote the use of universal design principles in order to increase access
to adequate housing and the ability to live independently for all;
(vii) Ensure that housing policy and legislation, and their implementation, are
non-discriminatory.
(d) Promote the continued application of sustainable housing principles by taking
measures to:
(i) Gather data on housing, including on homelessness, using common
international standards to ensure data comparability between member States;
make these data and national statistics publicly available in order to support
policy-making, research and economic development; and make use of global
and regional data repositories to support the policy-making process;
(ii) Encourage investment in research and innovation in all aspects of
sustainable housing;
7
Introduction to the proposal of the Open Working Group for Sustainable Development
Goals of 19 July 2014. At
http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/4518outcomedocument.pdf
8

9. (iii) Support good governance at all levels, cooperation between relevant
government agencies within countries, effective public participation in
decision-making and the rule of law in housing;
(iv) Develop capacities for participatory, integrated and sustainable human
settlement planning and management;
(v) Intensify the regional and international exchange of experience and
cooperation in housing, urban planning and land management
(vi) Develop and implement capacity-building programmes on housing, urban
planning and land management issues for all stakeholders.
___________________
9